FAO Maserati 3200 owners
Discussion
I want to swap my Boxster and get a 3200. Just doing some research etc and need a few questions answering:
What are the service intervals?
What are the known problems? For example I never knew about RMS failure on Porsches etc prior to purchase
Clutch life? I have heard some 5K horror tales
General running costs for everyday use, tyres etc. My biggest expense on the boxster this month was the Porsche N1 tyres at nearly £300 each, I could do with avoiding such tyre costs
Regards
Johnny
What are the service intervals?
What are the known problems? For example I never knew about RMS failure on Porsches etc prior to purchase
Clutch life? I have heard some 5K horror tales
General running costs for everyday use, tyres etc. My biggest expense on the boxster this month was the Porsche N1 tyres at nearly £300 each, I could do with avoiding such tyre costs
Regards
Johnny
yearly or 12k which ever is soonest, on manuals crank end float, on both, throttle potentiometers (although they are easy to reset), make sure it has the red key, tyres will still be £250+ per corner (I managed to eekk out 6k miles from the perelli p zero rears on mine), make sure it has a full service history preferably MD, at least specialist,
running costs will depend on mileage but will be more than a boxster. Minor service circa £500 - £750, major service £1000 + (belts etc.), engine out chain service at 64k (£2000 ish) although I have heard some indies are doing it with the engine in now at a bit less.
Auto's seem to be a lot less hassle and there is very little differance in performance.
They are not cheap to maintain, or run (15 - 20 mpg), and anyone who has skimped on servicing is just storing trouble for themselves or future owners.
Having said all that I've had mine for 7+ years and am only now thinking about changing it!
running costs will depend on mileage but will be more than a boxster. Minor service circa £500 - £750, major service £1000 + (belts etc.), engine out chain service at 64k (£2000 ish) although I have heard some indies are doing it with the engine in now at a bit less.
Auto's seem to be a lot less hassle and there is very little differance in performance.
They are not cheap to maintain, or run (15 - 20 mpg), and anyone who has skimped on servicing is just storing trouble for themselves or future owners.
Having said all that I've had mine for 7+ years and am only now thinking about changing it!
I too have a boxster I'm considering changing and a 3200 has been on my list of possibles.
The 3200 looks like a great car,however I've been put off by the enormous cost of parts. They seem to be roughly equivalent to Ferari (550, 465) prices. I wouldn't mind if the car was a £30K+ Ferrari that was likely to hold it's value, but spending that kind of money on a £10k-£15k leggy Masser (my price bracket) is a bit hard for me to justify.
Also (dons flame-proof gear), The Jag XKR is very similar proposition but is far more robust and cheaper on parts so worth adding into the mix.
Of course that's not to say that I won't go bonkers and buy one anyway!
The 3200 looks like a great car,however I've been put off by the enormous cost of parts. They seem to be roughly equivalent to Ferari (550, 465) prices. I wouldn't mind if the car was a £30K+ Ferrari that was likely to hold it's value, but spending that kind of money on a £10k-£15k leggy Masser (my price bracket) is a bit hard for me to justify.
Also (dons flame-proof gear), The Jag XKR is very similar proposition but is far more robust and cheaper on parts so worth adding into the mix.
Of course that's not to say that I won't go bonkers and buy one anyway!
Edited by bobfrance on Tuesday 10th February 10:37
MachineGunJohnny said:
Thanks for the replies, I do quite a lot of miles and would like the rear tyres to last a bit more than 6K
How long do the clutches hold out for? I do like the car, quite rare and they sounds lovely, the but running costs wont be too far off Ferrari prices I imagine
It's been a while since I owned mine but I think I did about 17K miles with only one change in tyres and no problems with the clutch. That said I tend to avoid first gear dump the clutch launches which shorten the life of tyres and clutches (in fact I've never had to change a clutch!).How long do the clutches hold out for? I do like the car, quite rare and they sounds lovely, the but running costs wont be too far off Ferrari prices I imagine
Don't think there's any particular bugbears (end float perhaps?), but you do need to take heed of the surprising amount of work done to fairly low-mileage cars in the classified (new brake lines, exhaust etc.) to realise they are perhaps not built like a tank.
You also need to adjust you sense of scale when it comes to problems. I hear a new throttle pot is about £1000 (not fitted). So little mechanical problems can become big financial issues.
If the engine went then your best bet is to jump off a bridge (they're £9k to sort when I last looked). Makes a 996 look like a cheap runabout.
Damn they're nice cars though. I'd risk it for a biscuit!
You also need to adjust you sense of scale when it comes to problems. I hear a new throttle pot is about £1000 (not fitted). So little mechanical problems can become big financial issues.
If the engine went then your best bet is to jump off a bridge (they're £9k to sort when I last looked). Makes a 996 look like a cheap runabout.
Damn they're nice cars though. I'd risk it for a biscuit!
3200gt said:
yearly or 12k which ever is soonest, on manuals crank end float, on both, throttle potentiometers (although they are easy to reset), make sure it has the red key, tyres will still be £250+ per corner (I managed to eekk out 6k miles from the perelli p zero rears on mine), make sure it has a full service history preferably MD, at least specialist,
running costs will depend on mileage but will be more than a boxster. Minor service circa £500 - £750, major service £1000 + (belts etc.), engine out chain service at 64k (£2000 ish) although I have heard some indies are doing it with the engine in now at a bit less.
Auto's seem to be a lot less hassle and there is very little differance in performance.
They are not cheap to maintain, or run (15 - 20 mpg), and anyone who has skimped on servicing is just storing trouble for themselves or future owners.
Having said all that I've had mine for 7+ years and am only now thinking about changing it!
Great info. here as usual.running costs will depend on mileage but will be more than a boxster. Minor service circa £500 - £750, major service £1000 + (belts etc.), engine out chain service at 64k (£2000 ish) although I have heard some indies are doing it with the engine in now at a bit less.
Auto's seem to be a lot less hassle and there is very little differance in performance.
They are not cheap to maintain, or run (15 - 20 mpg), and anyone who has skimped on servicing is just storing trouble for themselves or future owners.
Having said all that I've had mine for 7+ years and am only now thinking about changing it!
I'm a hunter and still not an owner but have been reading up on them here and at maseratiforum.co.uk.
I haven't heard of a single one that has done the engine or the gearbox - please correct me if you know otherwise. (Maybe there's not enough of them?)
Usual problems I've read about are the end float on manuals, throttle stuff and a few other electrical niggles, and also a leaky boot.
There's now a few examples up for sale that has done 90k and 100k miles, I see it as excellent news as the car can survive those mileages well.
Bobfrance is right about part prices tho, had a look at Eurospares and the throttle body costs about 1100 + VAT!
However, they also do breaking (not sure how much they'll charge for parts from broken cars). There's also a guy (can't remember his name) that goes to Italy regularly to pick up parts, he might be helpful.
Maserati owners are such a good and helpful bunch though, you'll see this at maseratiforums and here too. I still can't decide between the 3200 or the 4200 yet...but looking forward to join the group...great bunch...
We never got the 3200 in the states, but the Coupe owners (4200) that I know have had issues with the Cambiocorsa and like all things Italian they like to eat clutches. I've heard that if you change the pump relay on the 4200 annually and every so often change out the Cambiocorsa pump then you're generally safe.
But like anything Italian and Exotic they are going to cost you a lot to keep on the road, on a cheaper one I would run as fast as I could from anything without a stack of receipts in the glovebox.
That being said, I wouldn't be that afraid of a higher mileage one generally, I have put megamiles on F-Cars before and they take it very well, not too long ago a Testarossa that lived not terribly far from me was reportedly parted out because of terminal rust, but the car had over 140k miles and was mechanically as strong as ever, road salt did it in.
But like anything Italian and Exotic they are going to cost you a lot to keep on the road, on a cheaper one I would run as fast as I could from anything without a stack of receipts in the glovebox.
That being said, I wouldn't be that afraid of a higher mileage one generally, I have put megamiles on F-Cars before and they take it very well, not too long ago a Testarossa that lived not terribly far from me was reportedly parted out because of terminal rust, but the car had over 140k miles and was mechanically as strong as ever, road salt did it in.
Captain Cadillac said:
We never got the 3200 in the states, but the Coupe owners (4200) that I know have had issues with the Cambiocorsa and like all things Italian they like to eat clutches. I've heard that if you change the pump relay on the 4200 annually and every so often change out the Cambiocorsa pump then you're generally safe.
But like anything Italian and Exotic they are going to cost you a lot to keep on the road, on a cheaper one I would run as fast as I could from anything without a stack of receipts in the glovebox.
That being said, I wouldn't be that afraid of a higher mileage one generally, I have put megamiles on F-Cars before and they take it very well, not too long ago a Testarossa that lived not terribly far from me was reportedly parted out because of terminal rust, but the car had over 140k miles and was mechanically as strong as ever, road salt did it in.
Interestingly the 4200 lost the boomerang lights of the 3200 to qualify for US regs.But like anything Italian and Exotic they are going to cost you a lot to keep on the road, on a cheaper one I would run as fast as I could from anything without a stack of receipts in the glovebox.
That being said, I wouldn't be that afraid of a higher mileage one generally, I have put megamiles on F-Cars before and they take it very well, not too long ago a Testarossa that lived not terribly far from me was reportedly parted out because of terminal rust, but the car had over 140k miles and was mechanically as strong as ever, road salt did it in.
The 3200 only has manual or auto transmission... the cambiocorsa (paddle shift) started with the 4200. Yep, with the 4200 cambiocorsa clutches are a concern, with some owners reporting that they lasted 15-20k miles and costs about 2k to change.
Before reading about them, I never knew that these cars were mechanically robust...my uneducated impression was that they were much more fragile that Porsches (however the 996 models clearly put that in doubt). But they seem to be excellent!
The beauty of the exterior and interior is amazing. Oh and the sound!!!!
boomerrk, the guys name is david askew, and be found here http://web.onetel.net.uk/~davidaskew/maserati/cont...
3200gt said:
boomerrk, the guys name is david askew, and be found here http://web.onetel.net.uk/~davidaskew/maserati/cont...
Ah yes! Much thanks to you.Just wandered over from maseratiforum, and found it very interesting that a new COMPLETE 4200 gearbox is only 300 quid from Eurospares, whereas a refurb. auto. box for the 3200 is £1400 and the Getrag 6-speed for the 3200 is £2225!!!
How come the massive difference?
edited to add: Would this apply generally to 3200 parts vs 4200 parts?
Edited by boomerkk on Tuesday 10th February 16:54
It's not a problem doing short runs, so long as it is long enough to warm the engine and clean off the lamba sensors from the rich mixture from when starting from cold or the next time you start it the engine check light is likely to come on and stay on for the duration until the sensors have been cleaned by a longer run.
Its is very important with these cars to allow the managment systems to run the full check BEFORE engaging the starter motor. It only takes a few seconds so not a problem, but saves a lot of irratating warning lights occuring.
Its is very important with these cars to allow the managment systems to run the full check BEFORE engaging the starter motor. It only takes a few seconds so not a problem, but saves a lot of irratating warning lights occuring.
I found the manual hardwork in start-stop rush hour traffic, otherwise a very usable daily drive; and excellent 2+2 coupe (carried 4 adults a number of times). The build quality is better on my current GranSport, however saying that I never experienced any major faults in my 2001 manual. As highlighted, not recommended to enter Maserati ownership thinking you will get German running costs.
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